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Enkar'al
An Enkar'al was a very rare, leather-winged reptilian creature roughly equivalent in size to a horse. Atop their sinuous necks they had long reptilian heads bristling with fangs. Their membranous wings were ten paces across, and they possessed huge razor-sharp talons. Their chests were ridged and their bodies were covered in gnarled and shimmering scales of bright yellow or blood-red.Deadhouse Gates, GlossaryDeadhouse Gates, Chapter 17, US HC p.463-464Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 18, US HC p.474-475 They possessed multiple hearts. They may have had poor vision as Karsa Orlong once referred to someone as being "as blind as an enkar'al".Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 16, US HC p.433 But they were able to detect motion on the ground from high above in the dark,House of Chains, Chapter 12, US SFBC p.453 and were able to find prey by smell. During breeding season, bull males locked jaws in aerial battles for the right to mate while females circled above.House of Chains, Chapter 12, US SFBC p.457 Enkar'al were feared and ferocious fighters, capable of tearing through a score of armoured marines in moments. Their scaly hides were difficult to penetrate with anything less than a sword or heavy scimitar.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 17, US HC p.464 Their talons could easily push through and shred chain armour.House of Chains, Chapter 12, US SFBC p.454 The term enkar'al came from the Seven Cities (Bisbrha and Debrahl) languageDeadhouse Gates, Glossary, UK MMPB p.936 where they were were said to inhabit Raraku. On that continent they were considered a delicacy and their meat could be worth a hundred jakatas a pound in Pan'potsun.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 17, US HC p.463/465 In fact, they were all but extinct east of the Jhag Odhan. Like D'isthal Wyvalla, Wyval, and Trol, they were the "lesser spawn" of Starvald Demelain.Midnight Tides, Chapter 5, US TPB p.140 In Deadhouse Gates A yellow enkar'al was summoned by a pirate mage to attack the marines protecting the Ragstopper. The creature killed at least seven before Kalam Mekhar destroyed its wings, dropping it to the ship's deck to be set upon and destroyed by the survivors.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 17, US HC p.463-464 A blood-red Soletaken enkar'al battled Messremb in the maze surrounding Tremorlor. The giant bear Soletaken quickly dispatched it.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 18, US HC p.475 In House of Chains A bull enkar'al drank from a waterhole tainted by the blood of the B'ridys demon. This allowed the demon to swap bodies with the animal, entrapping the bull's soul within the rotted corpse of a Thelomen Toblakai at the bottom of the B'ridys fortress' well. The demon inhabiting the enkar'al's body then went hunting for Kalam Mekhar. Kalam was able to kill the creature, but was gravely injured in the process.House of Chains, Chapter 12, US SFBC p.453-457 The death of this bull likely marked the end of the Enkar'al east of the Jhag Odhan as it had not smelt the spoor of another of its kind for decades. At its death, the Wolves of Winter called on it to become their champion. Notes and references de:Enkar'al Category:Insects and reptiles